Pipe coupling apparatus



y 1931'. E. c. PEDLEY 1,805,007

PIPE COUPLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 27, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 EL. 0 Q INVENTOR- E/mer' U Pea Z94 A TTORNEYS.

E. C. PEDLEY PIPE COUPLING APPARATUS May12, 1931'.

Filgd Dec. 7, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Elmer C Pediey;

A TTORNE YS.

Patented May 12, 1931 Emmi. or

cr me," cA iFo-mvm.

:BIPE COUPLING- iirrnaa'rus npplication fileitlbecen ber'fl, 1927.. Serial No. 242,845.

Myinvention has reference generally to apparatus "for coupling and uncoupling sections-of pipe, and it has particular reference,

although not necessarily, to apparatus for :cou-pling and uncoupling casings as used in oil wells.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide an apparatus capable of quick application and removal to and from a well casing'and operable when appliedto rapidly couple or uncouple a section of easing, the apparatus being directly applicable to a section of casing when the'latter-is in vertical position within a derrick. -My invention contemplates the elimination of the-dangers'of personal injury attendant the use of manually operable tools heretofore used in coupling and uncoupling casingsections.

I-wi'll'describe only oneform of pipe coupling apparatus embodying my invention anld will i then point out the novel features in In the accompanying drawings:

Fig.1 is a view showingin side elevation oneform of pipe coupling" apparatus embodye ingmy invention in a pp iedposition to a drill pipe;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing the pipe coupling apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig.3 is a'view showing in top plan the.

turninghead of the apparatus;

Fig; 4 is a vertical sectional the,l'ine 4'& of 3; V

Fig. 5 is an; enlarged fragmentary view partly in section showing one form of con necting means for the chain embodied in the apparatus shown in the preceding Views;

" ig. 6' is'aplan view of. that portion of the chain shown; in Fig. 5 with the coupling pin w removed; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view of the couplinspinf Referring specifically to the drawings in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, my invention in its present em-' bodiment comprises a carriage on? which" the entire apparatus issupported and which is constructed to'facilitate movement of theentire apparatusfrom;placeto place to render 0 its application to drill i pipes at the wells;

view taken on.

the frame 30 ,as a wh'ole,.is moved forwardly or rearwardly withinthe slots according This carriage in the present instance comprises a'base 1'5 formed to facilitate sliding movement thereof over the ground or on a derrick. Upstanding from the base areposts or uprights 16 to the upper ends 'of wh'ichi is' fixed-a platform 17 of disk form having a central raised portion 18. On this platformis mounted a turntable 19. likewise of diskform Y and havinga central opening'in which the raised portion 18 is received, the turntable ro-r 0 tating about the raised portion as a center. The turntable is secured 1 to the platform against'dispjlacement' by means of a plate 20 bolted to the raisedlportion and projecting beyondj'the periphery ofthelatter to f0rm a* flange which operates to hold the turntable" against upward displacement. Bolted to the turntable-at diametrically opposed points are I-beams 21, and secured to the I-beams spanning relation thereto is a frame F.

' Bolts 22 and a top plate 23are employedfto secure the frame to the I-beams, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The frame'F includes an npward "ly and laterally extending forward portion 24 which is adapted to be bolted or otherwise] secured in a socket 25 with the latter inturn secured to a turning head designated generally atH." 1 r The turning head I-I includes a hollow block 26 the forward end of whichis open but the rearendis closed as shown inFigmlandi a plate 27 is bolted to this, closed end. The upper and lower sides of theblock arepro videdwith slots 28, the side edges of which are shouldered as indicated at 29 to provide runners on which the top and bottom portions of a U-shaped frame 3Ov are adapted to'slide within the slots. Thisframe 30 extends around the rear end of theblock-26 where it is provided with a screw giro-Q tatable therein and operable by a hand wheel 32. I The screw is threaded in the b'lo'c'k 26 and the plate 271'so that by rotation thereof as the screw is rotatedin one direction or the other. The forward ends of theframe I are formed with sleeves 33 in which liners 34: are, seated, and journaled in thesefliners are bushings 35. A shaft 36' connects the frame ends and its end portions are keyed to the'bushings 35 as indicated at 37. On the central portion of the shaft at a point between the upper and lower walls of the block 26 is a sprocket wheel 38. This sprocket wheel is formed independently of the shaft and is adapted to he slipped thereon but is locked to the shaft so as to be rotated thereby by the provision of pins 39 seated in the confronting ends of the bushings 35 and engageable with in suitable sockets in the ends of the hub of.

. 42. The diameters of these disks are such that their peripheries project beyond the forward edges of the block 26 so as to have physical contact with a section of pipe emb'raced'by the chain C, as illustrated b the dotand dash showingof a pipe in igs. Bland 4. As shown in Fig. 3, the forward edges of the block 26 are concaved, as indicated at 43, for the purpose of accommodating the pipe and to permit the latter to engage the rollers 42.

Arms 44 are bolted or otherwise secured to the opposite sides of the block 26 and these arms are curved forwardly and inwardly, as shown in Fig. 3,. with their free ends provided with rollers 45 adapted to contact with the periphery of the pipe and to center the latter so that it will have proper engagement with the rollers 42 all to the end of permitting the chain C to function properly in turning the pipe in either direction.

In the applied position of the chain 0 to a length of pipe, the chain is endless in order to form a continuous band which has gripping relationtothepipe so that when the chain is driven t Wlll operate, to effect turning movement of the latter in effecting .cou hngor uncoupling of the pipe section wit respect to an adjacent pipe section. That it may have proper gripping engagement with the pipe section the several links of the chain are provided with teeth 46 of any desired construction so long as they will prevent slippage of the chain on the pipe when the-chain is driven in either direction.

To permit the application of the chain to a section of pipe it must be discontinued at some point along its length, and for this purpose I provide a connection of the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6 although it is to be understood that any form of coupling may be employed. However, in practice it is essential to the practicability of the apparatus that such a coupling be provided as to permit the rapid coupling and uncoupling of the chain as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The coupling illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 consists in forming the openings of any two sets of adjacent links with flat tened portions indicated at 47 and into these openings are extended and permanently secured a pair of pins 48. These pins have the same-cross-sectional contour as that of the openings 47 so that the links of each adjacent set will be maintained in fixed position with respect toeach other and, consequently, the openings indicated at 49 in the outer ends thereof will be aligned vertically. Consequently, when the two sets of links are brought into meeting relation there will be no difiiculty in registering the openings of all of the links and thereby facilitating the application of a coupling pin 50. The openings 49 are graduated in diameter from the uppermost link downward in order to coact in providing a tapered sleeve into which the I the beams 21 as shown in Fig. 2. The shaft 51 in turn is adapted tobe driven from any suitable source of power, such as the internal combustion engine E illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and carried by the frame F. The shaft 51 is operatively connected with the shaft 36 by a mitre gear 52 fixed to the lower end of the shaft 36 and meshing with a similar gear 53 keyed to a shaft 54 journaled in a yoke 55 mounted on the shaft 36. By means ofa universal joint 56 the shaft 54 is connected to a short length of shaft 57, the latter in turn being telescopically associated with a tubular length of shaft 58. The shaft 58 in turn is connected to the shaft 51 by awuniversal joint 59, all as clearly shown in Fig. 2. By means of these connections the shaft 54 can occupy an offset position with respect to the shaft 51 and the frame 30 moved through its range of adjustment, and a driving connection main-- derrick, as shown, with theturning head positionedv to permit the chain C when uncoupled to be wrapped about the pipe and,

secured in wrapped position asillustrated sQQQtQQ? I in Figs. 3 and 4. The looped portion of the chain surrounding the pipe can be decreased to tightly embrace the pipe by an adjustment of the frame 30 through manipulation of the screw 31, such manipulation moving the frame rearwardly on the block and thus imparting a corresponding movement to the sprocket wheel 38. The rollers 45 contact with the pipe at points above the chain C, as illustrated in Fig. 4, while the periphery of the pipe has relating contact with the two sets of rollers 42. WVith the chain drawn into embracing relation with the pipe the latter. is held in firm contact with the rollers 42 and 45 and,-consequently, the pipe is held against lateral movement during the coupling or uncoupling operation.

Upon setting'the engine E into operation, motion of the shaft 51 is transmitted to the shaft 36 thereby rotating thesprocket wheel 38 to drive the chain G and thereby rotate the pipe in one direction or the other to couple or uncouple a pipe section. It is to be under' stood that the engine E includes a conventional type of variable speed transmission by which the shaft 51 can be driven in either direction and at any desired speed.

The turntable permits the turning head H to be swung away from the well casing when not in actual use thus not interfering with lowering of the elevators and the ap plication of the slips to the casing.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of drill pipe coupling embodying my invention, it is to beiunderstood that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pipe coupling apparatus comprising a head, a frame on the head, a shaft journaled in the frame, a sprocket wheel secured to the shaft, other sprocket wheels journaled in the head, a chain trained about the first sprocket and having engagement with only t e confronting sides of the other sprockets to provide a looped portion beyond the sprockets which is adapted'to receive a pipe, and means, for driving the shaft to eflect driving of the chain.

2. A pipe coupling apparatus comprising a head, a frame on the head, a shaft journaled in the frame, a sprocket wheel secured to the shaft, other sprocket wheels journaled in the head, a chain trained about the first sprocket and having engagement with the confronting sides of the other sprockets to provide a looped portion which is adapted to receive a pipe, means for driving the shaft to effect driving of the chain, and means by which the frame can be adjusted to constrict the looped portion of the chain into gripping relation to the pipe.

3. A pipe coupling apparatus as embodied nclaimB whe ein.thelas iniean comprises .screwirot tabl nint eaframean -thne de in the head. .4- Pin ccupl ng-ap a atus semhWi ncl iml, \Whe in rolle ar mounted n the h n rarm ar earri d yvth zh ail and provided with rollers positioned to receive the pipe therebetween and to center the latter with respect to the first rollers.

5. A pipe coupling a carriage, a turntable on the carriage, a frame on the turntable, a head on the frame, a flexible turning element on the head ada ted to embrace a pipe, a shaft on the head or driving the porting the element on the frame, and an operative connection between the driving element and said shaft to effect driving of the latter irrespective of its position of adjustment.

6. A pipe coupling apparatus as embodied in claim 2 wherein the frame is of U form, the shaft is removably fitted in the frame, and the first mentioned sprocket wheel is removably secured to the shaft to permit removal of the shaft from the frame.

7. A pipe coupling apparatus, comprising apparatus comprising.

turning element, means for sup' shaft for adjustment, a driving a head, a frame on the head, a shaft journaled in the frame, a sprocket wheel secured sprocket and engaging the other sprockets to provide a looped portion which is adapted to receive a pipe, rollers on the head form ing anabutment against which the pipe is adapted to bear when the latter is embraced by the chain, arms extending from opposite sides of the head and rojecting beyond the roller end of the head to accommodate the pipe therebetween, rollers on the arms for contact with the pipe, the shaft. i

8. A pipe coupling apparatus, comprising a carriage, a turntable on the carriage, a frame on the turntable extending to opposite sidesthereof, a head on the frame at one side of the turntable, a flexible turning element on the head adapted to embrace a pipe, a shaft on the head for driving the element, means for supporting the shaft for adjustment to secure an adjustment of the flexible turning element, a driving element on the frame at the other side of the turntable, and an operative connection between the driving and means for driving a head, a frame on the head, a shaft journaled in the frame, a sprocket wheel secured to the shaft, other sprocket wheels journaled in the head, a chain trained around the first sprocket wheel and havingengagement with the confronting sides of the other sprockets to'provide a looped portion which is adapted to receive a pipe, rollers mounted on the head, and'arms carried by the head and pr vided with rollers positioned to receive the v pipe therebetween and to center the latter with respect to the first rollers.

Signed at Los Angeles, in the county of 'Los Angeles and State of California this 7th day of December, A. D. 1927.

ELMIER o; PEDL'EY. 

